Treetops
by FreedomOfAnAirbender
Summary: So you think you're a badass, eh? Think you can just run away from home to keep your earthbending? Yeah well….yeah. You do. And you run into the hottest guy in the avatar universe. You're welcome. Or should I say, welcome to the freedom fighters... (Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA. Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko do)
1. Chapter 1

You'd successfully escaped the fire nation-occupied town by the reservoir and had made it into the forest. You hadn't told your family because you don't want them involved; they could get into trouble and it's your burden to bear. You feel stupid and guilty for leaving them behind but you're tired of keeping your bending a secret. One more close call and you would've been shipped off to a fire nation prison - not that your village isn't a prison already. Your plan is to rally up as many earthbenders as you can and liberate the town for good. _Won't be long before I can see my family again_, you think, _and mom can punish me all she wants when I get bac_k. You smile at the thought.

The forest is relatively quiet, save the rustling leaves which keep you on your guard. For some reason, you're light on your feet, trying to make the least amount of noise as possible…something you're not used to. But you can't help it. It feels like you're being watched. Your heart starts beating harder against your chest as you tell yourself to keep it together, but you fail to calm yourself down. You'd heard stories of Fire Nation soldiers getting attacked or in these woods…by people who jump down from the trees. Of course these fears flood your mind at this very moment, only worsening your situation. You think your heart has stopped beating when you hear a boy's voice,

"Hey," he emerges from behind a tree, much to your confusion…and of course shock. The boy looks about your age, dressed in ratty clothes and random bits of armor. His thick, brown hair practically covers his eyes. "You know, it's not safe to travel alone." His voice is low and calm as he turns toward you. Without answering him, you instinctively place your hand on the hilt of the dagger attached to your belt. His brown eyes flick down to your hand, then back to your eyes. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. It's the firebenders you should be afraid of," he continues warmly when he sees you take a step back, stiff with fear. You arch an eyebrow, suddenly relieved now that you know that the two of you share a common enemy. "Name's Jet. What's yours?" You hesitate before telling him your name. "Where ya headed?" he uncrosses his arms and places them on his hips.

Shaken out of your defensive state and starting to relax, you reluctantly answer him again, beginning with a sigh, "Anywhere but here…I kinda ran away from home."

"Why?" he raises an eyebrow.

"Fire Nation."

He nods and you wonder why he doesn't inquire further, so you continue.

"I'm just…tired of living in fear. I want to be able to do this," you kick a small rock out of the ground and watch it land in your palm, "without being hauled off to prison somewhere."

Jet's face lights up with interest, "You're an earthbender?! And you've been able to keep it a secret your whole life?" Despite the fact that he keeps his voice down to a whisper, there's no hiding his sudden excitement.

Your eyebrows furrow, "Yeah, surprised?"

"No, no, it's just…I thought the soldiers took them all away already."

"I wouldn't know. No one earthbends in my town, so if there are any other benders, they've been hiding it pretty well." You can practically see the wheels turning in his mind as you speak.

"So…you said you don't have a place to stay?"

"Not yet, why?"

The corners of his mouth turn upward, "How would you like to join the Freedom Fighters?"

"The what?"

"A skilled group of fighters lead by yours truly," he points to himself with his thumb. "Whattaya say?"

"Um…" By now he's practically gained your trust, something that shocks you after such little time. But opening up to a charismatic person like him wasn't difficult. You catch the enthusiasm in his eye and you smile, he's really quite attractive. "I wouldn't exactly call myself a skilled fighter, though."

"Well, you should be able to train safely here in the forest. We'll find you a secluded spot. You in?" he offers you a hand.

You inhale and plaster a genuine, determined grin on your face, shaking his hand firmly, "I'm in." You weren't about to pass up friendship during a time of war, especially when these friends could assist you in freeing your town.

"Great. This way to your new home," the boy turns to pull back a few branches, revealing the hookswords on his back as well as a rope hidden in the leaves. "Give me your hand." He grabs the rope loop firmly, extending his other hand to you.

You place your hand in his and he pulls you toward him; you show little resistance to this gesture as you end up pressed against his chest, his arm holding your waist. "You might wanna grab on," he chuckles before you follow his directions by wrapping your arms around him. "Ready?"

"Uh…sure?-AAAHHHH….ahahaha." Your yelp turns into excited laughter as the rope jerks the two of you upward, zipping through the leaves until you land on a flat, wooden surface.

"Sorry, I just wanted it to be a surprise," Jet chuckles.

You're too taken aback by the marvel before your eyes to answer him. Levels and levels of tree houses span as far as you can see. Bridges connect each structure, and you can make out a large platform, set out in the middle of it all. Children fly past you on zip lines; every trunk and branch are put to use.

Jet obviously notices your awe and smiles, "What do you think?"

"This is amazing," you turn to face him, "You built this?"

"All of us did. Took a while," he grabs the bit of wheatgrass in his mouth, "And as we added more recruits, the hideout just grew 'n grew."

"You guys are safe here? From the Fire Nation?"

"Yup. We've kept it secret for a long time." He slowly begins to stroll across the platform. Your eyes darting here and there, taking everything in as you listen to your guide.

"Down that way, that's our food stash," Jet begins, pointing in one direction. "Fruits grow all over this forest, so between those and our stash, you won't go hungry. Here, everyone's got a job. When it comes to food, we're uh…hunter-gatherers," he chuckles. "Hm…Over that way is our armory, we stash extra weapons there. Pretty diverse collection, you should check it out when you get a chance," he brags.

You laugh and he smirks before continuing, "Now, where do we put you…?" He stops and looks around before calling out to a boy with a large pin sticking out of his topknot. "Hey Sneers!" Like a well-trained poodle-monkey, the boy drops what he's doing and approaches his leader. "Have we got any empty rooms on the girl side?"

Sneers nods, "By Nori's tent, I think," and he points in the general direction.

"Thank you," Jet replies. As if he'd just been dismissed, Sneers turns and walks away.

"Alright, _, follow me."

"Quite a system you got here, separating the boys and the girls," you remark, trying to keep a conversation going.

"We've been here a while," Jet shrugs, "Pretty organized, I guess. Gotta keep everyone in line, make sure they're not slacking. It's not always easy, but I've gotta make sure everything works smoothly."

Even more impressed than before, you realize what a large responsibility this boy carries on his shoulders, "And you're in charge of everyone?"

"That's right."

"How did you all…come together like this?"

"I started the Freedom Fighters years ago," his voice becomes cold, "See, everyone here has lost something to the Fire Nation."

When he doesn't go on, and seems distracted, you quietly ask, "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" he turns his head towards you, "Oh, sorry 'bout that."

"What's wrong?" you ask, immediately realizing that it's probably too personal for him to talk about, and you hardly know him.

"Nothing, I'm fine, really," he chuckles, "Oh, here we go." He stops in front of an empty tent and pulls it open. You walk inside and wait for him to join you as you inspect it. The wooden platform is empty, but the sun finds its way inside, brightening it up just enough. "We should see to finding you a bed. Hmph…I think we have extra mattresses 'n blankets in the supply room. C'mon, you can leave your stuff in here." You set your small bag down onto the floor and exit the hut before walking with him to the supply stash.

Together, you haul your bed materials back to your tent and lay them in the middle of your new room. "Just one tip, though. Don't bring food in here 'cuz you don't wanna attract animals to your tent, especially when you're sleeping," he chuckles, and you laugh, though slightly frightened. He leans against the wall, "No, like, not big animals - we're in the trees. But the stupid kids who bring food in their tents always complain about crawly things and rodents and shit."

"Okay, got it," you giggle and find yourself staring at him. For a second you think he's staring at you too, but he blinks and raises his eyebrow at you. "Uh, so…Thanks…a lot. I really appreciate this."

Jet smirks, "Don't mention it. Thanks for deciding to join. You won't regret it." He looks away and grabs his wheat, "I've gotta go, why don't you settle in, then come find me at dinner?" You nod and watch him leave before flopping onto your new bed, placing your hands behind your head and staring at nothing, just letting your thoughts flow through your mind. His face, his smile, his eyes, his silhouette...they're already ingrained into your head. And this new life? In the trees? Where you and another boy are probably the oldest there, and you're still practically children? _What am I, crazy?_ Guess you'll just have to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

It hadn't been more than five minutes after Jet had left that another visitor appears at the threshold of your tent. You turn your head when you hear footsteps come to a halt at your hut, while a figure blocks the sunlight. Sitting up instantly, you try to get a better view of the person. Unfortunately, the sun strikes the figure from behind, bathing the front of it in shadows, so all you can make out is the silhouette of a girl. "...Hi," you address her politely.

"Who are you?" the girl asks in a gravelly voice, gesturing to you with a nod of her head.

You tell her your name and she slowly enters your tent. The contrast of sunlight and shadows subsides as she draws nearer and your eyes adjust, her features slowly being revealed. The first thing you notice are her dark, dagger eyes, followed by her other sharp features...her jaw, her chin...almost every edge of her could only be described as...sharp. Her raven hair, barely passing her chin, sweeps over her right eye. Her visible eye is lined with charcoal, her lashes are long, her lips are pursed judgingly, her black-gloved hands sit upon her hips, her fingers exposed. She's dressed in black; her sleeveless shirt reveals her muscular arms and the slimness of her waist, the bunchy fabric wrapped tightly around it. She wears black pants tucked into dusty black boots with a sword case displayed at her hip. You can tell right off the bat that she isn't somebody you want to mess with.

"You staying for good or something?" She shifts her posture, putting her weight on her right hip. You can just make out a scar below her left cheekbone. She obviously doesn't hide it with her hair because she's too proud to.

"Uh...I...guess? Maybe?" You give a small chuckle but you obviously can't get her to crack a smile.

The girl scoffs, "Don't expect anymore special attention from him after today."

"Who, Jet?"

"Yeah," she responds as if you should have known. "Why'd he decide to bring you here anyway?"

You feel as though you're shrinking under her judgemental glare. You hide your insecurity by holding your head high and keeping a calm tone. "I don't really know. He just wanted me to join you guys. Practically begged me," you chuckle. It's obviously an exaggeration but you don't know what had come over you. You just can't stand her belittling you and something inside you had told you to make her jealous for some reason. Instincts?

She rolls her eyes, "He's probably been out in the sun too long." You give her a fake smile and pretend to acknowledge her 'joke.' For the first time she smiles back, but it's nothing but snide. "Well if you think you're gonna stay here," she continues, "You better earn it. We don't need any burdens."

As she turns to leave, you chirp, "I didn't catch your name."

Pausing for a moment, but without looking back to you, she replies, "It's Hikari." And once she's gone, the sun's in your face again.  
All of the breath escapes from your lungs in a long sigh. You should've known not every freedom fighter would be as friendly as Jet. But even still, you have trouble excusing Hikari's bitterness. You don't have much time to figure her out before your thoughts are interrupted yet again; this time by a girl bursting into your room in a fit of giggles.

"Classic 'Kari. Hey, sorry 'bout her. She's...yeah. I'm Nori, my room's next door so I heard all that. You're..._?"

"Hey," you reply with a smile, relieved to distract yourself from your previous acquaintance. "So...what's her problem?" you whisper, leaning forward toward Nori. You both share a chuckle and your new friend shakes her head.

"Just avoid her. She and Jet had a thing and she got clingy so he dumped her. But if you ever ask her what happened, which you shouldn't, she'd tell you the opposite."

You nod, putting the pieces together. "So she's the jealous type."

"Yup," Nori responds before sitting beside you on your cot. "Aaaand her room happens to be right across from yours," she laughed.

"Great," you scoff and turn to Nori. She wears a dark green sleeveless shirt atop a long-sleeved brown one. Her brown pants are tucked into the wraps that travel down her calfs to her small brown shoes. Several blades hang from her belt as well as from a strap tied diagonally across her torso. Like everyone else in the hideout, her attire is ratty and her armor is sparse and eclectic. Luckily her presence isn't intimidating like Hikari's. Instead, she has a cheerful forest sprite-like face, playful brown eyes, and short brown hair, shorter and scruffier than Hikari's.

"So...where's your weapon? Can I see it?" she asks eagerly, looking around for some sort of spear, blade or mallet.

"Huh? No I- I don't have one," you reply in confusion.

Nori's eyebrows furrow, "Well then how come-"

"...No I mean...I don't...I'm a bender." Your voice becomes quieter with each word. You still aren't used to being so open about your bending.

Nori's eyes light up, "Really? That's awesome! You're the only other bender besides ol' 'Kari."

"She's an earthbender too? Why does she have a pair of-"

"Swords? Well it's always good to have a few weapons on ya." Gesturing to her knives and darts, she continues, "I throw some of these, stab with others. Nice to have a variety."

"Oh. I don't have any of those..."

"No problem, we've got plenty. Want me to show you?"

"That's okay...Maybe later."

"Sure. How bout a tour anyway? If you couldn't tell, I'm reeeally bored right now," she chuckles.

The tour does eventually lead to the armory, where you find yourself face to face with more weapons than you'd ever seen in your entire life. Some, strangely enough, are familiar to you. Nori explains that a lot of the Freedom Fighters' supplies are stolen from Fire Nation soldiers. _Definitely seen some of those in the last raid._ Not to mention the fact that your village is patrolled by the 'fire fuckers' day and night. That explains why the weapons seem so familiar.

By the time the sun had begun to set, you'd seen just about all of the hideout, which is like a small village itself. Kids of all ages run around taking care of chores, flying across zip lines, and still finding time to act like normal children. It's loud and busy all throughout the day and into the night.

"You hungry?" Nori asks as the summer air chills slightly, the rich sunset hues pouring through the hideout.

"I was just gonna ask when dinner was," you chuckle, noticing that it's probably the third or fourth time you and Nori had shared a thought.

"Now. We all eat together, up there," she points toward the large platform in the center of the hideout. "There's always enough for everyone, but with the better foods, it's first come first serve."

You shrug; you aren't a picky eater but you hurry to keep up with Nori. When the two of you join the sea of freedom fighters, Nori snags two gourd bowls as the kids on dinner duty hastily fill them with rice, pork, and some kind of vegetable that you don't recognize. After snatching a plum for each of you, she asks you to grab a couple of chopsticks.

Handing you your bowl and plum, Nori introduces you to her close friends, Kira and her twin brother, Kenji. As you join them on the wooden floor, you remember that Jet had told you to find him at dinner. You would hate to seem ungrateful for Nori's hospitality, and her friends seem really nice, so you stay. The thought that Hikari had been right about Jet forgetting about you dampens your spirit but you're easily distracted by Kira and Kenji's questions. They're just as excited about your bending as Nori had been.

"Veeeerrry carefully," you chuckle when Kenji asks how you'd practiced all your life. "Opportunities were rare, but I never let them pass me by."

"Hikari's a pretty good earthbender," Kira chimes in, "Maybe you guys could spar together." You and Nori exchanges looks.

"Yeah...maybe," you respond sarcastically, addressing Nori instead of the twins.

"So how do you like it here so far?" Kira asks, not noticing your satire.

"To be honest, I've never seen anything like this place," you set your small cup of water onto the wooden floor, "I still can't believe I ran into Jet, and now..." your gaze wanders around the hideout, "I'm where I've always wanted to be, ya know?" _Part of something important_, you want to say. _Part of the cause_.

"We get it," Nori says with a smile.

"To victory," Kenji proclaims, raising his cup.

"Hey, don't start toasting just yet," you hear a familiar voice interrupt from behind you. Whipping your head around, you see Jet's silhouette approaching, taking care not to step on anyone. "I wanted to make a speech tonight, ya know, introduce our newest recruit." The boy grins as he shakes your shoulders from behind you before standing beside you.

"He means _embarrass_ " Kenji chuckles.

"C'mon, it's like initiation," the boy with the wheatgrass jokes, tossing an arm over your shoulders. "You don't mind, right?" He turns his head toward yours, and you're almost taken aback by the proximity of your faces; you can feel his breath as he speaks. The sprig of grass in his mouth smells fresh, like he'd just picked it.

"Uhh I guess not..." you chuckle, shrugging.

"Wouldn't have mattered; I'd have done it whether you liked it or not," he flashes a smirk, a small chuckle passing his lips. You're caught off guard at his sudden shout, "ATTENTION!...HEY! EVERYONE!"

The chatter hushes instantly at the sound of the leader's voice.  
"Evening gang," he begins calmly, a warm, proud smile gracing his face as he looks upon his comrades as if he hadn't just released a bellow that had echoed through the trees two seconds prior. He seems to be pretty comfortable at your side, for his arm remains draped across your shoulders, holding you close. "As you may have noticed, we've got a brand new addition to the Freedom Fighters. This here's _, from the village. She's an earthbender," he turns to glance at you proudly before turning his attention back to the crowd. You drop your head, your cheeks flushing furiously. "Let's give her a warm welcome, guys." The hideout erupts in applause and hollers, as if Jet had been determined to make this as embarrassing as possible for you. "Alright, alright," he chuckles, holding up his free hand. "As you were."

Releasing his loose grip on you, Jet turns to face you, shoving one hand into his pocket as the other holds his wheatgrass, the rest of the freedom fighters returning to their dinner and conversations. "See, that wasn't so bad." Offering a smile as a peace offering, he continues, "So. Make sure you get a good night's sleep because tomorrow we're gonna assess your skills, so I know what I have to work with. Sound good?" You nod, and he continues. "Seriously though, we get up pretty early around here. And since I don't have anything to do tomorrow morning, I figured you and I could head into the woods and find a clearing where you could practice. Don't wanna hurt anyone, in case your bending's not under control," he teases. You open your mouth in protest, but nothing escapes except for,

"Deal."

"Great. See ya tomorrow." With that, he turns on his heels and leaves you to your new friends.

"Lucky," Kira whines, "You get to skip your morning chores."

"I have chores?" you inquire.

"Everyone does. We switch off every week. You can join our shifts if you want," Nori offers.

"Sure," you reply.

"This week we're on forest patrol."


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey." Someone whispers your name and you snap your eyes open. You aren't normally such a light sleeper but somehow it's easier to wake up in a foreign place - probably because you aren't used to it. As your head clears and you remember that your new bedroom is in the trees, your eyes gradually find the opening of your tent. There, sure enough, you see Jet standing and staring at you. "Good, you're awake. It's time to go." He keeps his voice down, holding the end of the wheatgrass in his mouth. "I'll give you a sec," the boy chuckles lightly, "meet me on the ground."

Once he disappears, you sigh, embarrassed that he'd seen you right after you'd barely woken up...and all the while you wonder how long he'd been standing there. You rub your eyes and stretch, reluctant to relinquish the warmth of your blanket but eventually stand, shoving your feet into your shoes. You sleepily fumble through your small bag until you find your hairbrush and run it through your long, knotted hair before separating it into three equal sections, just as you do every morning. When you're somewhat satisfied with your braid, you emerge from your tent, yawning and shivering. The sun isn't up yet and the air is cold and crisp.

It takes a few minutes but you eventually locate a rope loop and cautiously descend to the forest floor, holding the rope in a white-knuckled grip and refraining from looking down. Or anywhere, for that matter, until you feel your feet touch the ground.

"You can open your eyes now," you hear Jet chuckle as he approaches. "Don't worry, you'll get used to that real soon."

You chuckle a little awkwardly, a soft blush creeping across your cheeks. "So...what are we doing again?" you ask, your voice still somewhat groggy.

"_You're_ gonna show me what you've got. Remember?"

"Ohhh, right."

"C'mon." He gestures with his head for you to follow. "I know a good place for you to practice."

It's only about a ten minute walk to the clearing; Jet does most of the talking, always finding new questions to ask about you while talking about his own experiences.

Once you arrive, you find yourselves in a meadow surrounded by trees.

"This is it. Whatta ya think?"

"This is great," you reply with excitement, striding deeper into the meadow, your small boots shining with the morning dew from the grass. When your turn your attention back to Jet, you find him smiling at your amusement, apparently pleased that you like it there so much.

"Why don't you stretch for a little bit, then we can get started."

Yawning, you reach for your toes, relishing in the feeling of your muscles lengthening before you arch backwards. Standing upright again, you grab each foot, one at a time in your hand, and bend your legs behind you, stretching the front of your thighs. You then proceed to stretch your arms one by one above your head.

"Ready?" he asks.

"Uh...What do you want me to..." you trail off to silence.

"Well, what _can_ you do?" He cocks his head encouragingly.

You purse your lips in thought before taking a strong stance, debating whether to show off or start with something simple. He'd said he'd wanted to assess your skills...

With your fists balled, you stomp your foot, causing a small boulder to levitate out of the earth. You spread your fingers and the rock suddenly splits into five jagged shards. When you whip your arm, the shards fly through the air, each striking a tree trunk of its own.

"Nice aim," Jet comments, sounding impressed, a pleased grin on his face.

"Thanks."

"What else ya got?" This would be awkward if you didn't actually enjoy showing off.

You can't remember the last time you'd had access to this much open space to bend, while at the same time safe from the Fire Nation. Taking advantage of the situation, you gladly let loose, barely paying attention to your form.

Taking a firm step forward, you thrust your fist out, creating a path of sharp pillars that grow as they get further from you, eventually uprooting a tree. You turn and bring two small boulders out of the ground, punching them far across the clearing and watching them disappear into the trees and bushes at the other side. Looking around at the smooth terrain, another idea forms in your mind. Gathering all of your strength and planting your feet firmly into the ground, you raise your arms, in turn raising the ground beneath you and Jet until the two of you are standing on a hill that surpasses the height of the trees.

"Wow..." Jet exhales. You turn to see him staring at the view of the treetops. You have no idea where you'd summoned all of that strength from, and in no time at all. It would have been and an easy move for a master to execute, but it leaves you panting. The adrenaline you'd received from the new freedom slowly exits your body with each shallow breath, your heart racing.

"Nice. A little raw, but that's what we freedom fighters are all about."

"I've just...never had so much...earth to practice with..." you chuckle, trying to deepen your breaths and return your body to a relaxed state.

"Well this place is all yours," he says with a smile, holding out his arms. "You've earned it."

You beam, your eyes sparkling with excitement. All you can say is, "Thanks!" as your breath slowly returns to you. This new found freedom leaves you glowing, your cheeks flushed from the recent activity, albeit small. Nothing could ruin this moment until-

You hear a whistle as something flies past your face. Jumping back in shock, you turn to Jet who's looking to the ground for the source of the projectile. You whip your head, your eyes darting around until you catch a glimpse of what nearly hit you. As its flight path arches and it begins to fall to the ground, you recognize it as an arrow.

"Duck! He's got a crossbow!" Jet warns as he draws his hookswords and jumps off of the cliff you'd created. It isn't long before you hear shouts, grunts and the clinking of metal weapons, accompanied by blasts of fire which light the fight. It's then that you can make out the familiar red and gray armor.

Jet's doing exceptionally well holding his own against the soldiers, but he can't prevent the rest of them from climbing up towards you. Your heartbeat's picking up again; you'd never had to fight anyone with your bending. But it isn't like you have a choice.

Panicking, you shakily levitate a rock into the air and shoot it at one soldier, hitting him in the gut and knocking him off the edge of the artificial cliff. You don't have any time be relieved, shocked, or proud...or even think, because you find yourself dodging fireblast after fireblast, narrowly avoiding contact with the bright orange heat. When one man comes at you with a spear, you create a small bump in the terrain, making him trip and fall head-first over the edge. You're running out of room on your hill, quickly becoming surrounded until you make the bold choice to jump off, skidding to a stop halfway down the side and running the rest of the way until you're on level ground once again. The soldiers surely follow, but at least you don't feel trapped...yet.

Taking a deep breath, you drop into more of a confident fighting stance and shoot two boulders at a firebender coming your way. He dodges the first, but doesn't see the second, and ends up incapacitated underneath it. The other soldiers catch up to you and you quickly build a wall to shield yourself from the flames. As you thrust your fist out, the wall flies forward and pushes two men away before it collapses on top of them. You don't have time to watch them scramble to escape from underneath because more soldiers are closing in on you.

"C'mon darlin' you know you can't win. Surrender and we won't kill y-"

The husky voiced-soldier's threat is cut off when two hooks join in front of his neck, pulling him backward. Jet tramples him, kicking another man aside and joining you in the middle of the circle. "Nice job so far," he manages to say before grabbing a soldier's spear with his hooks and swinging him around until he knocks into another fellow soldier.

As a small shrub catches fire, smoke rises into the twilight sky. The two of you watch each other's backs as Jet hooks and throws firebenders around and you chuck rocks at them. You're able to block the flames from reaching your companion on several occasions and he removes any firebenders that get too close.

Finally, there's one brave firebender left standing. For some reason, he seems familiar, and not just because he's wearing standard fire nation armor. Maybe he'd patrolled your village at some point...In that moment, all of your hatred towards the oppressive nation accumulates and when Jet steps toward the him, you instantly levitate a shard of earth out of the ground and thrust it toward the man's chest. The wind is knocked out of him as he's sent flying backward, ultimately pinned to a tree, his head hanging motionless. You gawk at the lifeless body, wondering what'd come over you, and once it dawns on you that you'd just KILLED a man, you feel as if you're about to throw up.

When neither of you say a word, Jet places a hand on your shoulder, panting, "I'm impressed. You've got skill. But ya know...I was gonna finish him off."

How could he possibly tease you at a moment like- and then you realize that he's probably killed tons of firebenders.

You turn your head toward him, shaking. "...Sorry?"

"Don't worry about it," he chuckles, patting your back. "I should apologize, actually...I know I said this place would be safe from firebenders...But we do get some tresspassers now and then." A chill runs down your spine. "I mean, it shouldn't be a problem for you, judging by what I just saw." Suddenly his gaze is averted and a smile appears on his face. "Morning, guys. Situation's been taken care of."

When you turn around, you see a tall boy with a bow in his hands, a straw hat on his head and a fur tied around his shoulders. Next to him stands a shorter boy with scruffy hair that would cover his heavily lined eyes, if not for his headband. He's tightly clutching a dagger in each hand.

"That's Longshot and that's Smellerbee," Jet says, gesturing to each boy respectively. "Took you guys long enough."

"Well at least the newbie didn't get the forest burned down," Smellerbee retorts in a raspy voice.

Jet furrows his brow, "What are you talkin' about? She fought off as many as I did."

"No, she brought the firebenders _to_ you guys. Maybe earthbending here isn't such a good idea."

"She'll be fine. I told her she could practice here. Maybe _someone_ should have been keeping watch. These guys got way too close to the hideout."

"It's not our job!" Smellerbee whines.

"Alright, alright. Just start heading back and make sure that _someone_ is keeping watch."

Smellerbee obeys without a word, turning to leave, with the ever silent Longshot at his side.

Looking around at the mess that had been made, you see scorch marks in the grass, the once tranquil landscape destroyed by your bending, a corpse pinned against a tree trunk, and several soldiers laying on the ground or buried under piles of earth. There are definitely less men than before; the conscious ones had obviously escaped.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Jet breaks the silence. "We usually leave casualties where they are, kind of as a warning to other firebenders. There are never too many, so it isn't like a mass grave - that'd be gross. Plus the animals end up eating them anyway..." He stops when he sees your face turn pale. "...Uh, but 'til then, you can practice somewhere else. I know tons of other places."

((Author's note: Yes yes I know Smellerbee's not a boy, but you would think so if you were seeing her for the first time, right? Most people do lol))


End file.
